TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA: PENDING

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA: PENDING; Waiting in Silicon Valley

Published: December 1, 2003

In Silicon Valley, the Realtors can't wait. The nation's high-technology region has become obsessed with the impending initial public offering of Google, the leading Internet search engine. A flurry of press reports suggest that the company will go public some time between January and April of 2004, and prospects for the company's valuation have been reported as high as $25 billion. Google executives would not comment, but the company, according to reports, is considering a so-called Dutch auction, bypassing Wall Street and selling shares directly to investors, a route that would distance it from the investment bank scandals of the dot-com era. The second question on everyone's minds is whether Google will become the next Netscape, another highflying Silicon Valley Internet company whose business was undermined when Microsoft added a browser to its operating system.